UNIVERSITY  OF 

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NQN  CIRCULATING 

CHECK  FOR  UNBOUND 
CIRCULATING  COPY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  NO.  152 


CONTAGIOUS  ABORTION  OF  COWS 

BY  W.  J.  MAcNEAL,  IN  COOPERATION  WITH  HERBERT  W.  MUMFORD 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  NOVEMBER,  1911 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  152 

1.  The  existence  of  a  specific  contagious  disease  causing  abor- 
tion in  cows  has  been  recognized  for  a  long  time,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  disease  known  abroad  as  infectious  or  contagious  abortion 
is  also  prevalent  in  the  United  States. 

2.  The  infectious  agent  is  a  bacterium  first  described  by  the 
Danish  investigators,  Bang  and  Stribol.t.     This  microorganism  has 
been  isolated  from  aborting  cows  in  various  European  countries 
and  in  the  United  States. 

3.  Bacteriological   examination   of   afterbirths    from   aborting 
cows  at  this  Station  revealed  the  presence  of  this  germ. 

4.  To    eradicate    the  disease  from    a  herd,    the  affected    cows 
should  be  isolated,  and  their  genital  passages  cleansed  once  or  twice 
daily  with  an  antiseptic  solution  until  all  discharge  has  ceased,  when 
they  may  be  returned  to  the  herd;    all  infectious  material  (after- 
birth and  discharges)  should  be  burned;    infected  stalls  should  be 
cleaned    and  disinfected;    the    sheath  of  the  herd  bull  should    be 
cleansed  with  a  disinfectant  solution  before  and  after  service,  and 
a  separate,  clean  bull  should  be  used  for  heifers  and  clean  cows. 


BY  W.  J.  MAcNEAL,,  ASSISTANT  CHIEF  IN  BACTERIOLOGY,  IN  COOPERATION 
WITH  HERBERT  W.  MUMFORD,  CHIEI?  IN  ANIMAL  HUSBANDRY 

INTRODUCTION 

The  premature  discharge  of  the  products  of  conception  from 
the  uterus  is  a  not  infrequent  occurrence  among'  domestic  animals, 
and  doubtless  various  factors  may  from  time  to  time  operate  m  its 
causation.  For  a  long  time,  however,  practical  husbandmen  have 
recognized  an  epizootic  or  contagious  kind  of  abortion,  a  definite 
transmissible  disease  in  which  the  loss  of  the  fetus  is  the  most 
prominent  characteristic.  The  transmissibility  of  contagious  abor- 
tion of  cows  appears  to  have  been  demonstrated  experimentally  for 
the  first  time  by  Brauer.  Experimental  transmission  has  been  per- 
formed by  a  number  of  investigators  subsequently,  the  work  of 
Nocard  (1886)  furnishing  conclusive  evidence  upon  this  point. 

It  is  certain  that  a  disease,  or  possibly  more  than  one  disease,  of 
this  nature  is  a  source  of  serious  loss  to  the  live  stock  industry  in 
the  United  States,  and  there  can  no  longer  be  any  doubt  that  a  con- 
siderable part  of  this  loss  is  due  to  the  definite  specific  disease  prev- 
alent on  the  continent  of  Europe  and  in  England,  and  known  as 
Contagious,  Infectious,  or  Epizootic  Abortion.  The  purpose  of 
this  bulletin  is  the  brief  presentation  of  some  of  the  facts  concerning 
the  cause,  prevention  and  restriction  of  this  disease,  which  have 
been  established  by  modern  investigation,  for  the  information  of 
men  engaged  in  live  stock  production. 

BACTERIOLOGICAL  INVESTIGATIONS  ELSEWHERE 

Nocard  carried  out  the  first  extensive  bacteriological  investiga- 
tion of  contagious  abortion.  In  microscopic  preparations  of  the 
diseased  placenta  he  was  able  to  recognize  numerous  short  bacilli 
and  micrococci.  These  were  also  found  in  the  amniotic  fluid.  He 
obtained  pure  cultures  of  these  two  organisms,  but  failed  to  induce 
abortion  upon  inoculating  these  cultures  into  other  animals.  Neither 
of  the  germs  obtained  in  culture  could  therefore  be  regarded  as  the 
causative  agent  in  the  disease. 

In  1895  Bang  and  Stribolt  undertook  the  investigation  of  this" 
disease,  and  their  results  are  now  generally  regarded  as  the  most 
important  of  all  the  contributions  to  the  study  of  this  subject.  A 
cow  showing  all  the  symptoms  of  impending  abortion  was  purchased 
and  slaughtered.  The  unopened  uterus  was  removed  to  the  labora- 
tory where  it  was  opened  with  special  precautions  to  avoid  all  con- 

531 


532  BULLETIN    No.    152  [November, 

lamination.  An  abundant,  grayish  yellow,  odorless  exudate  was 
found  between  the  ovum  and  the  inner  wall  of  the  uterus.  Upon 
standing  this  exudate  separated  into  two  layers,  a  reddish  yellow 
serum  above,  and  a  grayish  yellow  partly  solid  layer  below.  In 
microscopic  preparations  of  this  exudate,  stained  with  Loeffler's 
methylene  blue,  numerous  very  small  bacilli  were  found,  apparently 
in  pure  culture,  some  of  them  lying  free,  but  large  numbers  of  them 
crowded  together  inside  cells.  These  latter  appeared  at  first  to  be 
micrococci,  but  more  careful  examination  proved  them  to  be  really 
short  rods.  Bang  and  Stribolt  were  able  to  cultivate  this  organism 
in  tubes  of  a  gelatin-agar-serum  medium,  the  germ  developing  only 
in  a  particular  zone  beginning  about  5  mm.  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
medium  and  extending  downward  10  to  15  mm.  After  consider- 
able work  with  cultures,  they  concluded  that  the  bacillus  is  neither 
an  aerobe  nor  an  anaerobe,  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  exhibits  a 
very  peculiar  behavior  in  respect  to  oxygen,  requiring  for  its  devel- 
opment a  partial  pressure  of  oxygen  somewhat  less  than  that  pres- 
ent in  the  atmosphere.  They  were  unable  to  obtain  growth  of  the 
germ  in  the  presence  of  the  ordinary  atmosphere,  nor  in  the  absence 
of  oxygen  (Pyrogallol  method).  Curiously  enough,  by  placing 
their  tube  cultures  in  an  atmosphere  of  pure  oxygen,  they  obtained 
cultures  developing  in  two  zones,  one  near  the  top  and  the  other 
near  the  bottom  of  the  tube,  indicating  that  there  are  two  optima  in 
the  oxygen  requirement  of  the  organism.  \This  very  interesting 
character  of  the  organism  received  great  attention  at  their  hands, 
but  nevertheless  Bang  points  out  that  typical  development  such  as 
he  has  pictured  was  not  always  obtained,  a  number  of  factors  seem- 
ing to  cause  variation  in  the  position  and  extent  of  the  develop- 
mental zones  in  these  tube  cultures.  By  exhausting  the  air  above 
the  medium  in  the  tube,  the  growth  was  made  to  extend  to  the 
surface.  In  this  way  they  were  able  to  obtain  growth  of  the 
bacillus  on  plates,  but  they  did  not  work  out  a  reliable  plate  method, 
preferring  to  employ  the  dilution  tube  cultures  for  separation  in 
all  their  work.  Bang  and  Stribolt  subsequently  examined  pieces  of 
placenta  from  a  large  number  of  cases  of  contagious  abortion,  and 
found  the  bacillus  microscopically  in  practically  all  cases.  Some- 
times they  were  abundant,  in  other  instances  very  scarce.  Most  of 
this  material  was  badly  contaminated,  yet,  from  that  sent  in  during 
the  colder  season  they  successfully  isolated  the  bacillus  in  pure 
culture  in  a  majority  of  the  cases.  In  three  fetuses  the  bacillus 
was  found  in  the  intestinal  contents  in  pure  culture;  in  one  fetus 
it  was  isolated  from  the  blood.  Two  cows  with  mummified  fetus 
in  utero  were  examined  post  mortem.  These  fetuses  had  been  dead 
9  months  and  5  months  respectively  but  the  surrounding  exudate 
still  contained  the  abortion  bacillus  and  pure  cultures  of  it  were  ob- 
tained from  each  case.  Uterine  exudate  kept  in  the  refrigerator 
still  contained  living  abortion  bacilli  after  seven  months. 


/9//]  CONTAGIOUS  ABORTION  OF  Cows  533 

Having  found  the  same  bacillus  microscopically  in  a  series  of 
cases  of  abortion,  and  having  obtained  it  in  pure  culture  from  a 
number  of  them,  it  now  remained  for  Bang  and  Stribolt  to  produce 
the  disease  by  inoculation  of  these  cultures  into  healthy  animals. 
Four  pregnant  cows  were  obtained  without  knowledge  of  their 
previous  history.  Two  of  them  were  inoculated  by  intra vaginal 
application  of  pure  cultures,  and  two  by  intravaginal  application 
of  pieces  of  afterbirth  from  aborting  cows.  No  abortion  resulted 
in  any  of  the  cows  and  at  slaughter  19  to  29  days  after  inoculation, 
there  was  no  evidence  of  the  disease.  This  result  was  surprising, 
as  Brauer  had  induced  abortion  by  the  second  of  the  above-men- 
tioned procedures  in  from  9  to  21  days,  Lehnert  in  from  12  to  20 
days,  and  Trinchera  in  9  to  13  days.  The  authors  thought  that 
the  animals  may  have  been  immune  on  account  of  a  previous  attack 
of  the  disease,  or  that  possibly  the  interval  between  innoculation 
and  slaughter  (19  to  29  days)  may  have  been  too  brief  for  the 
disease  to  have  developed.  For  the  next  experiment  two  cows  were 
purchased  from  a  region  where  abortion  was  unknown.  Pregnancy 
began  January  14  and  January  16,  1896.  On  April  14,  a  rich 
culture  of  the  abortion  bacillus  was  injected  well  up  into  the  an- 
terior end  of  the  vaginal  canal  of  each  of  these  cows.  The  inocu- 
lation was  repeated  in  the  same  way  on  May  23,  and  again  on  June 
4.  One  cow  aborted  June  24,  the  fetus  evidently  having  been  dead 
some  days.  The  abortion  bacillus  was  isolated  from  the  afterbirth. 
The  other  c'ow  showed  the  signs  of  impending  abortion  on  June  23, 
and  was  slaughtered  on  June  24.  The  condition  inside  the  uterus 
resembled  in  every  respect  that  observed  in  the  cow  from  which  the 
original  culture  had  been  isolated,  and  the  bacillus  was  present  in 
pure  culture.  In  these  cows  the  disease  had  appeared  10  weeks 
after  the  first  inoculation.  A  third  cow  was  inoculated  by  intra- 
vaginal application  January  19,  1897,  and  subcutaneously  March  6, 
in  both  instances  with  pure  cultures  of  the  bacillus.  Premature 
delivery  of  a  living  calf  occurred  April  9,  80  days  after  the  first 
inoculation.  Abortion  was  also  caused  in  sheep  by  intravaginal 
application  and  by  intravenous  injection  of  pure  cultures.  Inocu- 
lation by  the  latter  method  proved  to  be  more  certain  in  these  ani- 
mals, and  the  incubation  period  after  intravenous  injection  was  only 
7  days  in  one  case  and  12  days  in  another.  Intravenous  inoculation 
of  a  mare  resulted  in  a  premature  delivery  after  28  days.  In  all 
these  cases  the  bacillus  was  recovered  from  the  afterbirth. 
•v  In  1902,  Preisz  at  Budapest  isolated  the  same  bacillus  from  two 
cases  of  contagious  abortion  in  cows.  He  confirmed  the  findings  of 
Bang  in  respect  to  the  oxygen  requirements  of  the  organism,  and 
was  able  to  obtain  cultures  by  a  variety  of  methods  on  ordinary 
media.  Apparently  his  cultures  were  less  vigorous  than  those  of 
Bang,  for  they  soon  died  out,  their  resistance  to  germicides  was 


534  BULLETIN    No.    152  [November, 

slight,  and  all  his  inoculations  into  animals,  including  two  pregnant 
cows,  two  pregnant  guinea  pigs,  and  one  pregnant  rabbit,  as  well 
as  a  number  of  other  small  animals,  were  without  positive  result. 
Preisz  named  the  organism  "Coryncbactcriuin  abortus  endcmici 
.(s.  infectiosi) ." 

In  1908,  Nowak  at  the  University  of  Krakau  in  Austria  made 
a  very  important  contribution  to  the  study  of  this  disease.  He 
found  the  culture  method  of  Bang  and  Stribolt  very  useful  for  the 
identification  of  the  organism  when  obtainable  in  pure  culture,  and 
when  the  contaminating  bacteria  were  few  in  number.  When  other 
bacteria  were  numerous,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  material  ob- 
tained for  examination,  he  found  this  method  difficult.  The  pyro- 
gallol  method  of  Preisz  also  proved  to  be  unreliable  in  his  hands. 
Eventually  he  devised  a  method  of  plate  culture  which  proved  to 
be  very  useful.  Ordinary  agar  was  melted  and  cooled  to  50°  C. 
then  mixed  with  about  one  fourth  its  volume  of  naturally  sterile 
blood  serum,  and  poured  into  sterile  Petri  dishes  where  it  was 
allowed  to  solidify.  The  piece  of  placenta  or  other  material  to  be 
examined  was  then  streaked  over  several  of  these  plates  in  succes- 
sion, and  the  plates  were  incubated  for  24  hours  at  37°  C.,  to  allow 
contaminating  bacteria  to  develop.  The  plates  were  next  placed  in 
a  glass  jar  together  with  a  culture  of  Bacillus  subtilis,  one  square 
centimeter  of  culture  surface  of  the  latter  organism  being  provided 
for  each  15  cc.  capacity  of  the  jar.  The  jar  was  sealed  and  placed 
at  37°  C.  for  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  excellent  surface 
colonies  of  Bang's  bacillus  were  obtained.  By  the  application  of 
this  method  Nowak  has  succeeded  in  isolating  the  bacillus  from  the 
blood  and  intestinal  contents  of  a  number  of  fetuses,  and  from 
uterine  discharge,  when  other  methods  failed.  He  has  also  observed 
that  one  could  gradually  decrease  the  amount  of  culture  surface 
of  B.  subtilis  employed  in  succeeding  cultures  and  eventually  get  the 
bacillus  of  Bang  to  grow  in  the  presence  of  atmospheric  air,  al- 
tho  the  cultures  were  relatively  poor  ones.  Nowak  also  con- 
firmed Bang  by  obtaining  cultures  in  an  atmosphere  of  nearly  pure 
oxygen,  as  well  as  in  ordinary  air  under  a  pressure  of  three  atmos- 
pheres. His  cultures  were  evidently  vigorous  for  some  of  them 
were  successfully  transplanted  after  two  years.  Nowak  used  ordi- 
nary agar  as  a  medium  with  considerable  success,  and  found  glucose 
agar  to  be  almost  as  favorable  to  the  growth  of  the  bacillus.  For 
the  detection  of  the  germ  in  pathological  material,  however,  these 
media  proved  to  be  inferior  to  the  serum-agar  mixture  in  several 
cases.  Cultures  were  obtained  in  broth  and  in  milk  without  coagu- 
lation, contrary  to  the  statement  of  Preisz.  No  gas  was  produced 
in  sugar  broth.  Nowak  inoculated  a  number  of  pregnant  labora- 
tory animals,  and  produced  abortion  with  great  regularity  in  guinea 
pigs  and  rabbits  by  subcutaneous,  intravenous  and  intraperitoneal 


535 

injection.  He  did  not  succeed  in  producing  abortion  by  intravaginal 
application  nor  by  feeding.  No  tests  were  made  upon  larger  ani- 
mals much  to  his  regret,  as  in  his  opinion  the  experiments  of  Bang 
upon  cows  still  left  something  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  experi- 
mental evidence. 

McFadyean  and  Stockman  (1909)  have  investigated  the  conta- 
gious abortion  of  cattle  in  Great  Britain,  and  have  found  it  to  be 
identical  with  that  studied  by  Bang  in  Denmark.  They  were  able 
to  produce  the  disease  in  cows  by  intravenous  injection  of  natural 
virus  and  of  active  pure  cultures,  without  a  failure  in  eight  experi- 
ments. By  intravaginal  application  they  caused  the  disease  twice 
with  cultures  and  three  times  with  natural  virus,  but  also  failed  to 
obtain  any  result  in  three  trials  with  the  natural  virus.  Subcuta- 
neous inoculation  was  successful  three  times  in  five  trials.  By  feed- 
ing they  produced  the  disease  three  times  in  four  trials.  These 
authors  consider  ingestion  to  be  an  important  mode  of  contracting 
contagious  abortion  in  nature. 

Zwick  (1910)  has  made  a  preliminary  report  of  the  bacterio- 
logical investigation  of  contagious  abortion  at  the  German  Imperial 
Health  Office.  By  a  comparative  study  of  cultures,  the  unity  of 
the  disease  in  Denmark,  Germany,  England,  and  Holland  has  been 
established.  Certain  individual  differences  were  detected  in  the 
various  -culture  strains  examined,  and  it  was  found  that  the  ba- 
cillus could  be  readily  cultivated  upon  various  ordinary  laboratory 
media,  and  that  it  could  also  adapt  itself  to  an  aerobic  existence, 
thus  confirming  the  work  of  Nowak.  In  one  instance  the  bacillus 
grew  aerobically  immediately  upon  isolation  from  the  animal  body. 
Abortion  was  induced  in  sheep,  goats,  and  rabbits  by  intravenous 
injection,  intravaginal  application,  and  also  by  feeding.  Work  upon 
the  use  of  abortin  (analogous  to  tuberculin)  for  diagnosis,  and 
upon  the  agglutination  and  complement  fixation  tests,  was  in  prog- 
ress at  the  time  the  report  was  made. 

BACTERIOLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS  AND  EXPERI- 
MENTS AT  THIS  STATION 

In  the  United  States  contagious  abortion  is  widespread,  and  has 
been  recognized  for  a  number  of  years  by  practical  husbandmen 
as  an  important  economic  factor  in  animal  industry.  Epidemio- 
logical  studies  have  recently  been  reported  from  Arizona  and  Con- 
necticut. At  the  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  the  beef 
cattle  herd  has  suffered  considerable  loss  from  abortion  for  several 
years  past,  and  the  presence  of  contagious  abortion  had  been  recog- 
nized by  Professor  Mumford,  altho  this  diagnosis  was  disputed 
by  other  authorities.  In  order  to  settle  the  question  it  seemed  best 
to  undertake  a  bacteriological  study  of  the  disease.  This  seemed 


536  BULLETIN    No.    152  [November, 

the  more  desirable  because,  so  far  as  we  have  ascertained,  there  was 
no  known  microorganism  generally  recognized  and  accepted  as  the 
cause  of  the  disease  in  this  country,  the  bacillus  described  by  Bang 
having  been  found  only  in  Europe  and  his  work  having  failed  to 
be  confirmed  by  American  investigators. 

Altogether  eighteen  parturient  cows  have  been  examined  bac- 
teriologically.  Ten  of  these  calved  at  term  and  the  births  appeared 
to  be  normal.  The  abortion  bacillus  was  not  found  in  any  of  these. 
Eight  were  cases  of  premature  delivery,  and  of  these,  six  appeared 
clinically  to  be  cases  of  contagious  abortion.  Placental  tissue  from 
two  of  these  cases  was  examined  by  the  Nowak  plate  method  and 
a  bacillus  isolated,  apparently  identical  with  that  isolated  by  Bang 
in  Denmark  and  by  Nowak  in  Austria. 

The  organism  is  a  very  small  short  rod,  usually  oval  in  shape, 
from  O.8/A  to  2.o/*  long  by  0.77*  wide,  practically  always  single, 
rarely  in  short  threads  of  two  to  four  cells.  It  is  not  motile,  and 
does  not  form  spores.  It  stains  with  moderate  rapidity  with  the 
ordinary  anilin  dyes,  and  is  decolorized  by  Gram's  method.  The 
colonies  on  serum-agar  are  raised,  with  smooth  circular  borders, 
appearing  almost  like  drops  of  dew.  They  are  transparent  and 
very  clear,  with  a  bluish  gray  color  by  transmitted  light.  Under  the 
microscope  a  few  coarse  granules  may  be  seen  near  the  center  of 
the  colony  but  the  greater  part  of  it  appears  very  homogenous  and 
almost  water-clear.  The  appearance  of  the  colony  is  really  a  very 
characteristic  feature  of  the  organism  and  enables  one  to  distinguish 
readily  the  colony  of  the  abortion  "bacillus  from  other  colonies  on 
the  serum-agar  plates. 

The  behavior  toward  oxygen  is  another  character  upon  which 
considerable  reliance  may  be  placed  in  the  identification  of  strains 
recently  isolated  from  the  animal  body.  This  is  tested  by  trans- 
planting the  colonies  from  the  serum-agar  plates  to  two  series  of 
agar  streak  sub-cultures,  of  which  one  series  is  incubated  in  the 
atmospheric  air  and  the  other  in  the  closed  jar  together  with  cul- 
tures of  B.  subtilis.  Unless  the  growth  under  the  latter  condition 
is  much  better  than  the  growth  outside  the  jar,  the  culture  may  be 
discarded  as  one  not  belonging  to  this  species. 

A  final  important  test  in  identification  is  that  of  pathogenicity. 
Nowak  induced  abortion  in  pregnant  guinea  pigs  with  great  regu- 
larity by  subcutaneous,  intraperitoneal,  and  intravenous  injection  of 
pure  cultures  of  the  abortion  bacillus.  So  far.  four  pregnant  guinea 
pigs  have  been  inoculated  subcutaneously  with  the  pure  cultures 
isolated  by  us,  and  the  inoculation  has  been  followed  by  premature 
evacuation  of  the  uterus  with  death  of  the  fetuses  in  ?y2,  8,  6,  and 
7  days  respectively.  In  the  first  guinea  pig  the  l  w  o  fetuses  were 
practically  fully  developed  and  covered  with  hair-  In  this  instance 
the  abortion  bacillus  was  isolated  only  from  the  subcutaneous  tissue 


CONTAGIOUS  ABORTION  OF  Cows  537 

of  the  mother  at  the  point  of  inoculation,  the  cultures  from  the 
uterus,  the  placenta,  and  the  fetuses  remaining  negative.  In  the 
other  three  cases  the  fetuses  were  undeveloped  and  the  condition 
was  that  of  a  true  abortion.  In  these  instances  the  abortion  ba- 
cillus was  demonstrated  by  culture  tests  at  the  point  of  inoculation 
in  pure  culture  in  two,  in  mixed  culture  in  the  other  one;  in  the 
interior  of  the  uterus  in  pure  culture  in  all  three;  in  each  of  the 
four  placentae  of  t\vo  cases  in  mixed  culture,  as  these  placentae  had 
been  passed  some  time  before  they  were  found,  and  in  the  three 
placentae  of  the  other  case  in  pure  culture ;  in  the  livers  of  all  three 
fetuses  of  the  one  case  in  pure  culture,  but  not  in  the  other  four 
fetuses;  in  the  heart  blood  of  the  mother  in  pure  culture  in  one 
case,  but  not  in  the  other  two  cases.  In  all  these  tests  the  mother 
guinea  pig  was  killed  by  chloroform  soon  after  the  abortion  had 
occurred. 

From  the  results  of  these  tests  we  have  concluded  that  the 
bacillus  isolated  by  us  from  aborting  cows  is  identical  with  that 
isolated  by  Bang  and  by  Nowak.  Further,  the  investigations  of 
Bang,  Preisz,  Nowak,  McFadyean  and  Stockman,  and  Zwick,  seem 
to  justify  the  acceptance  of  this  organism  as  the  infectious  agent  in 
the  contagious  abortion  of  cattle. 

The  principles  of  bacteriological  nomenclature  have  not  as  yet 
been  universally  adopted,  and  most  of  the  investigators  quoted  in 
this  paper  have  avoided  the  use  of  a  specific  name  for  the  abortion 
bacillus.  Bang,  himself  seems  not  to  have  given  it  a  binomial  desig- 
nation, but  he  repeatedly  employed  the  term  "Abortusbacillus"  as 
a  specific  term.  Chester  (1901)  has  named  the  organism  "Bac- 
terium abortivum"  with  the  synonym  "Bacillus  of  contagious  abor- 
tion in  cows,  Bang."  Preisz  (1902)  suggested  the  name  "Coryne- 
bacteriwn  abortus  endemici  (s.  infcctiousi)."  This  generic  name 
Corynebacterium  appears  to  be  incorrect,  as  the  organism  is  very 
different  from  those  to  which  this  name  has  been  previously  ap- 
plied. It  would  seem  best  to  employ  the  more  general  term  Ba- 
cillus (or  Bacterium)  as  a  confessedly  temporary  generic  name  until 
a  more  definite  generic  nomenclature  of  bacteria  shall  have  been 
developed  and  generally  adopted.  In  determining  the  specific  name 
it  would  seem  that  the  term  "Abortusbacillus"  employed  by  its 
discoverer  as  early  as  1907  should  receive  first  consideration.  We* 
have  therefore  suggested  the  name  Bacillus(or  Bacterium}  abortus, 
Bang,  for  this  organism.  The  term  ''abortus,"  being  in  the  geni- 
tive case,  may  be  employed  with  either  generic  term. 

RESTRICTION  AND  ERADICATION  OF  THE  DISEASE 

Reliable  methods  for  restricting  the  spread  of  contagious  abor- 
tion and  for  eradicating  it  from  a  herd  may  be  expected  as  the 

*MacNeal  and  Kerr,  1910. 


538  BULLETIN    No.    152  [November, 

result  of  more  complete  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  nature  of 
the  disease  and  its  mode  of  spread.  Some  of  these  methods,  such 
as  that  of  artificial  immunization,  are  being  tested  experimentally 
by  the  Departmental  Committee  appointed  by  the  British  Board 
of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  to  inquire  into  Epizootic  Abortion. 
Until  these  methods  have  been  developed  beyond  the  experimental 
stage,  the  older  more  or  less  empirical  methods  will  have  to  be  relied 
upon.  Fortunately  these  older  methods  can  now  be  subjected  to 
careful  scrutiny  in  the  light  of  modern  knowledge  of  the  disease, 
and  they  have  been  studied  in  this  way  by  the  British  Committee 
mentioned  above.  The  following  summary  has  been  copied,  with 
only  .slight  abridgment  and  very  few  alterations,  from  the  report 
of  this  Committee. 

"The  methods  which  have  been  relied  upon  in  the  past  for  the 
prevention  of  abortion  and  its  eradication  from  a  herd  are : — 

1 i )  Periodical  spraying  of  the  external  genital  organs  and  hind 
quarters  with  disinfectant  solutions. 

(2)  Isolation  of  animals  as  soon  as  they  show  the  premonitory 
signs  of  abortion. 

(3)  Internal  administration  of  carbolic  acid  to  animals  supposed 
to  be  infected  or  exposed  to  infection. 

(4)  Irrigation  of  the  genital  organs  of  animals  which  have 
aborted  with  antiseptic  solutions. 

(5)  Removal  and  disposal  of  animals  which  have  aborted. 

(6)  The  keeping  of  a  special  bull  for  serving  animals  which 
have  aborted,  or,  what  is  based  on  the  same  idea,  the  disinfection 
of  the  external  genital  organs  of  the  bull  with  antiseptic  solutions 
after  he  has  served  such  a  cow. 

(7)  Destruction  of  the  abortion  membranes,  and  disinfection 
of  the  parts  of  the  buildings,  litter,  etc.,  with  which  the  infective 
material  has  come  in  contact. 

(8)  The  keeping  of  a  goat,  especially  a  male  goat,  in  a  byre 
with  the  cows.  „ 

It  cannot  be  said  of  the  above  measures  that  either  singly  or 
collectively  they  have  brought  about  any  material  improvement  in 
the  general  condition  of  our  herds  in  relation  to  abortion.  Ac- 
cording to  reports,  decided  improvements  have  been  effected  in 
individual  herds  by  the  adoption  of  isolation  and  disinfection,  while 
in  others  very  little  has  been  accomplished.  Some  of  the  above 
methods  are  founded  on  nothing  more  than  ignorant  empiricism, 
while  others  are  based  upon  pathological  and  physiological  consid- 
erations which  are  only  partially  correct  in  their  applications.  Since 
most  of  them  have  obtained  a  certain  amount  of  hold,  at  least  on 
the  minds  of  stockowners,  it  may  be  useful  to  discuss  each  measure 
separately  in  the  light  of  our  recent  investigations. 


i9ff]  CONTAGIOUS  ABORTION  OF   Cows  539 

Spraying  of  the  External  Genital  Organs. — This  is  a  procedure 
which  probably  has  little  or  no  value.  (Abridged.) 

Isolation  of  Animals  as  soon  as  they  shoiv  Signs  of  Abortion. — 
The  necessity  for  this  measure  is  obvious,  and  its  importance  can- 
not be  too  much  insisted  on.  An  infected  animal  only  becomes 
infective  to  others  immediately  before  the  act  of  abortion,  and 
may  remain  so  for  some  weeks  afterwards.  However,  only  a 
proportion  of  the  affected  animals  show  premonitory  signs,  and 
quite  a  number  may  abort  amongst  their  companions  without  warn- 
ing. Under  such  conditions,  then,  measures  of  immediate  isolation 
lose  much  of  their  undoubted  theoretical  value,  owing  to  the  dirri- 
culty  in  the  way  of  carrying  them  out  in  practice.  There  is  not 
likely  to  be  any  serious  difficulty  in  diagnosing  the  bacterial  disease 
after  an  act  of  abortion,  even  in  an  isolated  case,  if  the  membranes 
are  available  in  a  reasonably  fresh  state.  (Abridged.) 

Isolation  of  the  affected  animals,  however,  must  be  complete 
before  and  after  the  act  to  be  of  any  real  value.  Having  regard 
to  what  appears  to  be  the  most  common  form  of  infection,  viz.,  by 
ingestion,  we  do  not  think  that  anything  material  is  to  be  gained 
by  merely  putting  all  the  cows  about  to  abort  and  those  which  have 
aborted  at  the  lower  end  of  a  byre,  so  that  the  infective  discharges 
may  not  come  in  contact  with  the  external  genital  organs  of  their 
fellows,  unless  we  assume  that  infection  frequently  takes  place  by 
an  animal  licking  virulent  material  from  a  part  of  its  body  where 
it  has  been  deposited  by  flicks  of  the  tail  which  has  been  contami- 
nated by  lying  in  the  gutter  behind  the  stalls. 

Internal  Administration  of  Carbolic  Acid. — The  uselessness  of 
carbolic  acid  and  other  antiseptics  as  curative  agents  has  already 
been  referred  to.  As  a  preventive  agent  by  internal  administration 
we  believe  carbolic  acid  to  be  equally  useless.  Even  if  it  were  possi- 
ble to  administer  very  large  doses  of  this  poisonous  substance,  one 
could  not  expect  to  be  able  to  give  enough  to  destroy  the  bacilli 
which  have  been  swallowed  and  mixed  with  the  contents  of  the 
enormous  stomachs  and  intestines,  and  it  would  be  equally  hopeless 
to  expect  to  destroy  in  this  way  the  bacilli  which  have  already 
reached  the  womb.  This  alleged  measure  of  prevention  must  be 
regarded  as  an  absurdity  which  has  gained  a  certain  amount  of  sup- 
port owing  to  observations  carelessly  collated  and  carelessly  inter- 
preted. 

Irrigation  of  the  Genital  Passages  after  Abortion. — With  the 
act  of  abortion  the  greater  part  of  the  uterine  exudate  .is  imme- 
diately ejected.  That  some  of  it  remains  behind  for  a  short  period 
is  certain,  since  we  were  able  to  demonstrate  abortion  bacilli  in 
material  obtained  from  the  vagina  of  a  heifer  three  days  after  she 


540  •  BULLETIN   No.    152  [November, 

had  aborted.  On  the  other  hand,  no  abortion  bacilli  could  be  found 
in  the  uterus  of  another  heifer  a  month  after  she  had  aborted. 
It  seems  probable  that,  as  a  rule,  the  genital  organs  cleanse  them- 
selves by  natural  means  a  comparatively  short  time  after  abortion 
has  taken  place.  Almost  immediately  after  abortion  and  expulsion 
of  the  membranes  the  uterus  contracts,  and  its  internal  surfaces 
come  into  apposition.  Its  condition  is  such  that  it  would  not  be 
possible  to  force  fluid  into  it  with  a  pump  from  the  vagina.  Apart 
then,  from  the  probability  that  disinfection  of  the  uterus  by  anti- 
septics is  not  necessary  to  rid  the  organ  of  abortion  bacilli,  we  are 
of  opinion  that  it  is  futile  to  attempt  it  by  irrigation  methods.  So 
long  as  a  discharge  continues  to  come  from  the  genital  passages, 
we  think  that  for  hygienic  and  therapeutic  reasons  they  ought  to 
be  cleansed  once  or  twice  by  the  intravaginal  injection  of  tepid 
antiseptic  solutions,  such  as  a  2  per  cent  solution  of  carbolic  acid 
or  a  i  in  3,000  solution,  of  corrosive  sublimate,  but  not  on  the 
ground  that  the  injections  will  disinfect  the  uterus.  We  are  of 
opinion  that  it  \vill  seldom  be  necessary  to  continue  the  injections 
for  more  than  a  month,  and  that  after  three  months  there  should 
be  small  risk  in  putting  the  cow  to  the  bull,  provided  she  is  after- 
wards protected  from  fresh  infection. 

Removal  and  disposal  of  Animals  which  have  aborted. — It  is 
quite  a  prevalent  custom  to  feed  for  the  butcher  cows  which  have 
aborted.  It  is  also  customary  to  sell  such  cows  alive  in  the  open 
market.  The  second  custom  we  consider  likely  to  introduce  disease 
to  other  establishments,  unless  the  animals  have  ceased  to  discharge ; 
they  should,  we  think,  be  kept  for  at  least  three  months  after  abor- 
tion before  being  sent  for  sale. 

The  first  custom  is  less  objectionable  than  the  second,  but  we 
think  that  a  breeder  will  be  more  likely  to  get  rid  of  abortion  from 
his  herds  by  keeping  such  animals  than  by  disposing  of  them  and 
"bringing  in  new  ones  before  his  entire  herd  is  free  from  the  disease. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  most  cases  an  attack  of  the  disease 
greatly  increases  an  animal's  resistance  to  future  attacks,  and  that 
in  a  large  proportion  of  the  affected,  probably  in  the  majority,  this 
resistance  is  sufficient  to  fortify  them  against  infection  during  their 
next  pregnancy.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  a  considerable  proportion 
may  abort  twice  in  succession,  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  inocula- 
tion methods  may  now  be  successfully  employed  to  exalt  their  re- 
sistance. In  the  midst  of  infection  there  is  no  better  guarantee 
against  the  disease  than  the  possession  of  an  immune  stock,  and  for 
this  reason  we  consider  that  on  infected  premises  the  animals  which 
have  already  aborted  are  to  be  looked  upon  as  valuable  assets  for 
purposes  of  eradication,  much  more  valuable  than  the  new  and 
susceptible  animals  brought  in.  We  find,  however,  that  a  small 


CONTAGIOUS  ABORTION  OF   Cows  541 

proportion  of  cows  will  not  hold  to  the  bull  for  an  indefinite  period 
after  abortion,  and  it  may  be  found  better  to  fatten  off  such  animals, 
unless  they  are  of  high  value. 

The  Keeping  of  a  Special  Bull  for  Cows  which  have  aborted. — 
We  have  already  stated  that  we  do  not  consider  the  bull  a  factor  of 
the  first  importance  in  the  dissemination  of  abortion  but  that  in- 
fection by  means  of  a  contaminated  bull  must  be  looked  upon  as 
a  distinct  possibility.  We  think,  therefore,  that  there  is  something 
to  be  said  in  favor  of  keeping  a  bull  for  the  service  of  cows  which 
have  aborted,  and,  when  that  is  not  possible,  of  disinfecting  the 
external  genital  organs  of  the  bull  after  he  has  served  such  cows. 
Of  course,  if  the  cows  can  be  immunized  the  same  bull  might  be 
used  for  all.  We  do  not  think  that  cows  from  a  clean  establish- 
ment should  be  sent  even  to  a  clean  bull  on  infected  premises,  and 
it  is  also  inadvisable  that  cows  from  infected  premises  should  be 
sent  to  a  bull  on  a  clean  establishment. 

Destruction  of  Virulent  Material  and  disinfection  of  every- 
thing contaminated  by  it. — The  immediate  disinfection  of  the  viru- 
lent materials  and  contaminated  objects  is  of  great  importance, 
more  especially  as  it  appears  that  the  natural  virus  may  remain 
active  for  a  long  time  outside  the  body.  The  soiled  litter,  dung, 
exudate,  membranes,  and  fetus  should  all  be  removed  at  once, 
preferably  after  they  have  been  treated  with  caustic  lime.  Alter 
removal  they  should  be  soaked  in  paraffin  and  burned,  or  buried 
in  a  deep  pit,  preferably  the  former.  On  no  account  should  the 
fetus  and  membranes  be  fed  to  pigs  or  dogs.  When  a  fetus  is 
aborted  alive,  as  sometimes  happens,  it  seldom  survives  long,  and 
it  is  advisable  to  kill  and  destroy  it,  since  it  may  excrete  abundance 
of  virulent  material  from  its  intestines  if  allowed  to  live.  If,  how- 
ever, it  be  decided  not  to  kill  it,  it  should  immediately  be  isolated. 
The  walls  of  the  stall  and  the  floor  should  be  washed  or  strewn 
thickly  with  caustic  lime,  or  drenched  freely  with  boiling  water. 
The  temperature  necessary  to  kill  the  bacillus  is  not  great,  and  this 
simple  method  of  disinfection  should  prove  efficacious.  Lastly,  the 
boots,  clothing,  and  hands  of  attendants  should  be  disinfected  by 
making  use  of  any  reliable  disinfectant,  such  as  3  or  4  per  cent 
solution  of  carbolic  acid. 

The  keeping  of  a  Goat  alnongst  the  Cows. — This,  we  believe 
can  only  have  had  its  origin  in  ignorant  superstition,  but  we  feel 
bound  to  mention  it,  as  the  question  of  its  efficacy  has  quite  fre- 
quently been  seriously  put  to  us.  We  would  point  out  that  goats 
themselves  can  be  infected  with  cattle  abortion,  and  that  both  male 
and  female  goats  were  on  our  premises  during  the  greater  part  of 


542  BULLETIN    No.    152  [November, 

the  time  occupied  with  the  cattle  experiments,  and  their  presence 
did  not  prevent  animals  from  aborting. 

Preventive  Inoculation. — This  is  still  in  the  experimental  stage 
and  definite  results  are  hoped  for."  (Abridged.) 

The  Committee  refrained  from  making  any  recommendations 
in  regard  to  measures  to  be  taken  by  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
Fisheries  for  the  prevention  of  the  disease. 

Experience  in  connection  with  the  beef  cattle  herd  at  the  Illinois 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  with  the  methods  of  isolation, 
careful  disposal  of  infected  material,  cleaning  and  disinfection  of 
infected  stalls,  antiseptic  irrigation  of  the  genital  passages  of  cows 
which  had  aborted,  and  antiseptic  irrigation  of  the  bull  before  and 
after  service,  together  with  the  use  of  a  special  bull  for  heifers  and 
clean  cows,  has  been  very  satisfactory.  These  measures  were  ap- 
plied under  the  direction  of  Professor  H.  W.  Mumford  and  Mr.  H. 
O.  Allison.  During  the  year  previous  to  the  inauguration  of  these 
measures  a  large  percentage  of  the  calves  were  lost  by  abortion. 
A  decided  improvement  in  respect  to  the  number  of  calves  saved 
was  coincident  with  the  use  of  the  procedures  mentioned  above. 
They  were  applied  to  each  case  of  abortion  as  'it  occurred,  until  in 
the  course  of  two  years  abortions  have  become  very  infrequent  and 
the  herd  is  now  considered  free  from  the  disease.  It  should  be 
noted,  however,  that  those  cows  which  had  aborted  were  not  neces- 
sarily disposed  of,  but  after  local  irrigation  treatment  until  the  dis- 
charge had  ceased,  they  were  bred  again.  Some  of  the  improve- 
ment in  the  herd  has,  therefore,  doubtless  been  due  merely  to  the 
retention  of  relatively  immune  cows. 

Altho  the  experience  here  has  been  rather  fortunate  and  the 
results  obtained  seem  to  bear  some  relation  to  the  employment  of 
the  measures  deemed  worthy  by  the  British  Committee,  we  hesitate 
to  state  that  there  was  any  necessary  relation  between  them,  because 
cattle  men  have  observed  somewhat  similar  improvement  in  herds 
without  the  use.  of  any  treatment  at  all.  In  other  words,  there 
appears  to  be  a  tendency  for  the  disease  sometimes  to  die  out  in  a 
herd  or  to  become  quiescent  for  a  year  or  two.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  recommendations  of  the  British  Committee  supported  as  they 
seem  to  be  by  our  local  experience,  certainly  warrant  the  recom- 
mendation of  these  measures  for  use  in  combating  contagious  abor- 
tion. In  any  event  good  results  cannot  be  expected  without  intelli- 
gent, careful,  and  painstaking  work,  and  it  may  be  that  some  of  the 
failures  in  applying  these  measures  have  resulted  from  lack  of 
efficiency  in  applying  them  rather  than  from  insufficiency  of  the 
measures  themselves. 


CONTAGIOUS  ABORTION  OF  Cows  543 

References 

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3.  Chester.     A  Manual  of  Determinative  Bacteriology.     1901. 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBAN^ 


